Super Marshal

At the end of November, Chinatown faced a tough schedule.

In the fourteenth round of La Liga, they challenged Malaga away.

After Pellegrini coached Real Madrid, Malaga invited former Real Madrid coach Schuster to coach.

The German coach took the initiative to seek stability when facing Chinatown, setting up a 4-4-2 formation in an effort to block Chinatown at home.

Zidane once again arranged a substitute rotation for the away game, and in just six minutes, he took the lead in breaking the deadlock with Pogba's goal.

Then in the 23rd minute, De Bruyne scored another victory and further expanded the score.

The unstoppable Chinatown continued to launch offensives towards Malaga, especially in the second half. In the 65th, 73rd and 81st minutes respectively, Dybala, Pogba and substitute Jese scored consecutively. Scored a goal and finally beat Malaga 5-0 away from home.

But this victory was not impressive at all in this round of La Liga.

Real Madrid defeated Almeria 5-0 in an away game, Barcelona defeated Granada 4-0 at home, Atletico Madrid even bloodbathed Getafe, Villarreal and Sevilla 7-0 at home. They all won by three or four goals.

Coupled with the 5-0 score in Chinatown, the 14th round of La Liga undoubtedly ushered in a scoring frenzy.

After this round, the La Liga standings have not changed at all.

…………

…………

Three days later, the fifth round of the Champions League group stage.

Chinatown was forced to go to the ice-covered Ukraine to challenge Shakhtar Donetsk away from home.

The strength gap between the two teams is not small. Shakhtar Donetsk also knows that it is difficult for them to compete with Chinatown. However, in the home game, the cold weather has become the best and most effective way for the Ukrainian team to restrain Chinatown.

The two teams played inextricably in the first half, and Chinatown was unable to enter the state.

It was not until the 65th minute of the second half that Zidane substituted Koke. As a result, in the first minute after the Spanish teenager came on the field, he touched the ball with his first foot and formed a tacit understanding with Isco, allowing Isco to assist. Hazard scored a goal.

Cork assisted Hazard to score his second goal in the 87th minute.

Zidane's on-the-spot command gave the team a 2-0 victory away from home.

But in another game at the same time, Manchester United defeated Leverkusen 5-0 on the road.

This battle shocked the entire European football world. No one expected that Pochettino's team could play so fiercely against Leverkusen, especially on the away road. The Bundesliga team was almost completely defeated. .

As of the fifth round, Chinatown and Manchester United both had three wins and two draws and remained unbeaten, while Leverkusen faced Shakhtar Donetsk with one win and one draw, ranking third. Shakhtar Donetsk basically has been eliminated.

But the first and second place in the group have to be left to the end to reveal the suspense.

…………

…………

In the fifteenth round of La Liga, Chinatown welcomed Barcelona.

Before this game, both sides played in the Champions League group stage, but unlike Chinatown's 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in an away game, Barcelona lost 1-2 away to Ajax, which created various conditions this season. The first defeat on the battlefield.

Especially in the whole second half, it was achieved with one more player than the opponent. If we look at the first half alone, Barcelona was trailing 0 to 2. The whole game was very sluggish, and even the ball possession rate on which it relied most was lost. Gave it to Ajax.

This caused Barcelona coach Martino to face unprecedented criticism after the game. Some media reporters close to Barcelona even broke the news that Martino became angry with the players for the first time in the locker room after the game, and angrily rebuked many players. The poor performance, and many local Barcelona players, including Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Pique, Puyol, etc., are quite dissatisfied with Martino's coaching.

Le Monde even broke the news that in word of mouth within Barcelona, ​​Martino was described as Messi's yo-yo.

They even concluded that Martino will not survive the winter break, and a coaching change has become an option on the Barcelona management desk, even if his team has only lost one game so far.

The revelations from the outside media caused an uproar throughout Barcelona, ​​especially Martino, who publicly stated at the press conference that he did not know where the media reporters got the news. He and the players did encounter some problems. But there is no contradiction between them.

"When I first took office, I said that in the next twenty-one games, we will only lose one."

Martino seemed to be using this method to prove to everyone that he was not doing a bad job.

So far in the season, almost halfway through, his team has only lost one game. How come it has been pushed to the forefront?

In particular, media reporters can get so much information about the team. Where does it come from?

In contrast, Chinatown went on an expedition to Ukraine and won 2-0 away from home, while Barcelona suffered a defeat at Ajax. This made the weekend's first-place battle undoubtedly more eye-catching.

Chinatown's home game against Barcelona immediately became the focus of all fans around the world.

But before the game, both sides deliberately kept a low profile. Zidane and Martino both praised their opponents at the pre-match press conference, and the atmosphere seemed harmonious.

But the more this happens, the more uneasy it becomes.

…………

…………

December 1st, Leganes Broc Stadium.

Like other home games this season, Gao Han sat in the chairman's stand, accompanied by Armando Marcos and Cantarero. Sitting next to him were Fuenlabrada and Leganes. and important officials from the Madrid regional government.

Martino played his main team in this game. The goalkeeper is Valdes, the defense is Alba, Pique, Otamendi and Alves, and the midfielder is the iron triangle of Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi, the frontcourt is a combination of Pedro, Ibrahimovic and Messi.

Chinatown, which plays at home, appears more cautious.

Zidane used a double midfielder tactic, with De Gea as the goalkeeper, Alex Sandro, Godin, Varane and Montoya in the defense, and Illarramendi and Kante in the midfield. Behind, Isco bursts forward, and the front trident is the combination of Hazard, Morata and Griezmann.

Illarramendi and Kanter started together, which was indeed a bit surprising, but it also showed Chinatown's attitude, which is to focus on stabilizing defense and actively counterattack.

Zidane once again resorted to a high-position pressing style of play, trying to disrupt Barcelona's skilled teamwork and smooth ground penetration. This situation lasted for 20 minutes.

Faced with the aggressive momentum of the home team, Barcelona seemed a little unable to let go.

But this is just the overall situation. In the details, Zidane still came up with something eye-catching.

For example, when facing Barcelona's best teamwork, Zidane required players to keep pressing when defending, compressing the opponent's ball control space, and adopting strict double-teaming, forcing Barcelona to move the ball to the side.

Barcelona has always been good at passing the ball into the thirty-meter zone through passing and receiving, and then using the players' individual abilities, as well as excellent running positions and skillful teamwork to complete the shot, but tonight, this method was used at the Block Stadium. Doesn’t make sense.

Illarramendi was behind, and Kante was running all over the court. These two players were like an airtight wall, blocking Barcelona's ball in front of the defense, and the team's overall pressure made it difficult for Barcelona to let go. Use your hands and feet.

Barcelona's only chance in the first half came in the 19th minute. Messi dribbled the ball in from the right and cooperated with Iniesta. Xiaobai cleverly used his personal ability to get rid of the defensive player and passed the penalty area.

In the penalty area, Ibrahimovic used his body to suppress Godin and Varane, and stopped the ball to Messi. The Argentine stepped in and hit the goal directly, but the sure-shot shot was missed by the Germans. Hea flew to save.

This is Barcelona's most threatening attack.

But in the 28th minute, Chinatown quickly changed colors.

After launching a counterattack in the frontcourt, Montoya moved forward decisively. After receiving the pass from his teammate, he dunked past Pedro and tried to pass the ball.

Iniesta raised his foot to defend and touched it, causing the ball to change direction. After physical contact with Pique in the penalty area, Morata barely grabbed the ball and pushed it, but ended up pushing the ball to Valdes. In arms.

Three minutes later, there was another counterattack after stealing the ball from the wing. Alex Sandro moved forward at great speed and passed in from the left.

In the penalty area, Morata's header hit the far corner, but it hit the crossbar and went out of the baseline.

Before the end of the first half, Pique made a long pass and sent the ball behind the Chinatown defense. Messi quickly stepped in and successfully countered offside. After stopping the ball with his chest, he took advantage of the situation and hit the goal, but he hit the goal directly. Taller.

Both sides went back and forth, attacking and defending. No one was able to create a scoring opportunity, but the rhythm of the game was very intense.

It wasn't until the referee blew the whistle that ended the first half that Gao Han let out a heavy breath.

"A skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and Barcelona is still Barcelona."

"Who says it's not?" Cantarero couldn't help but shake his head, "I just looked at the data in the first half, and Xavi passed the ball 62 times. Although it is still far from his peak, it is still Much more than others, this is the so-called peak no longer."

The gap in strength is obvious and irrefutable.

Chinatown is still too young for the time being. If you want to challenge Barcelona, ​​Zidane has the right idea.

Using double midfielders to clamp down on Barcelona's passing and cutting cooperation is considered a relatively safe tactical approach. High-position pressing and pressing is an old tradition in Chinatown. Zidane fine-tuned the details, but the effect is very good. .

If it weren't for Illarramendi's delaying and Kante's running all over the field, I might not have been able to hold on to the first half.

"The second half is the critical moment that determines the outcome." Gao Han said with great certainty.

"Yes, Barcelona was beaten by Ajax, and it took a lot of physical energy. In the second half, there will definitely be more mistakes."

Gao Han smiled and shook his head, "Whether they make mistakes or not, we must force them to make mistakes. If it were me, I would consider pressing forward directly at the beginning of the second half to grab a fight."

"Press Kanter's defense zone further forward?" Cantarero said with a flash of light.

"Yes, under the circumstances of huge physical exertion, as long as there is a crack in Barcelona's midfield, Kante can snatch the ball and counterattack on the spot as soon as he snatches it, and we will have a chance!" Gao Han said excitedly.

Cantarero still trusts Gao Han's vision, "But, can Zidane see it?"

Gao Han narrowed his eyes and shook his head, saying that he didn't know.

"Maybe this is what Zidane wants?"